--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But my dreaming self refuses to be…" description: "\"But my dreaming self refuses to be consoled. It continues to wander, aimless, homeless, alone. It cannot be convinced of its safety by any evidence dra..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/861/margaret-atwood-40_dream_but-my-dreaming-self-refuses-to-be-conso_2953131.jpg" --- # But my dreaming self refuses to be consoled. It continues… ![“But my dreaming self refuses to be consoled. It continues to wander, aimless, homeless, alone. It cannot be convinced of its safety by any evidence drawn from my waking life.” quote by Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/861/margaret-atwood-40_dream_but-my-dreaming-self-refuses-to-be-conso_2953131.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/861/margaret-atwood-40_dream_but-my-dreaming-self-refuses-to-be-conso_2953131.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/861/margaret-atwood-40_dream_but-my-dreaming-self-refuses-to-be-conso_2953131.jpg) > “But my dreaming self refuses to be consoled. It continues to wander, aimless, homeless, alone. It cannot be convinced of its safety by any evidence drawn from my waking life.” [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Dreams can become restless wanderers when reality offers no safety. **In simple terms:** Dreams feel unsafe without grounding. Key Takeaway Ground dreams in reality. Themes psychology loneliness dreams Mood melancholic introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - therapy - creative writing - mindfulness practice - support groups Key Concepts existentialism literary analysis Questions to Reflect On - What anchors your dreams? - How do you balance imagination and safety? A Different Perspective Escapism can hinder action. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aimless Homeless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aimless-homeless-4461049/) [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Dreaming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreaming/) [Dreaming Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreaming-self-1041748/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Evidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evidence/) [Homeless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/homeless/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Refuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/refuse/) [Refuses Consoled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/refuses-consoled-4461048/) [Safety](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/safety/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self Refuses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-refuses-4347459/) [Waking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waking/) [Waking life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waking-life/) [Wander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wander/) ## Related quotes > [The biggest hindrance to the missionary task is self. Self that refuses to die. Self that refuses to sacrifice. Self that refuses to give.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hale/the-biggest-hindrance-to-the-missionary-task-is-self-self-that/) [Thomas Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hale/) > [I think that most people, and by people I mean journalists, think that I pre-conceive everything and that I spend my afternoons dreaming up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-white/i-think-that-most-people-and-by-people-i-mean-journalists-think-that/) [Jack White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-white/) > [My interest at the moment is to use my dreaming self (which I also access in shamanic journeying) to engage with the Earth. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-hardie/my-interest-at-the-moment-is-to-use-my-dreaming-self-which-i-also/) [Amy Hardie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-hardie/) > [“Dreaming and self-esteem are the only things to make one extraordinary…”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zainab-asif/dreaming-and-self-esteem-are-the-only-things-to-make-one-extraordinary/) [Zainab Asif](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zainab-asif/) > [Again and again I find that my own inner counselor, my secret dreaming self, is not only wise and helpful but usually amusing as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-b-kopp/again-and-again-i-find-that-my-own-inner-counselor-my-secret-dreaming/) [Sheldon B. Kopp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-b-kopp/) > [For a long time now I have trusted my dreaming self as wiser than that waking self whose head is cluttered with reason and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-b-kopp/for-a-long-time-now-i-have-trusted-my-dreaming-self-as-wiser-than/) [Sheldon B. Kopp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-b-kopp/) > [Your dreaming self seeks to tell you something your waking ears will not hear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-carey/your-dreaming-self-seeks-to-tell-you-something-your-waking-ears-will/) [Jacqueline Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-carey/) > [Home is where the heart is, I thought now, gathering myself together in Betty's Luncheonette. I had no heart any more, it had been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/home-is-where-the-heart-is-i-thought-now-gathering-myself-together-in/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [In creating a work of art, the psyche or soul of the artist ascends from the earthly realm into the heavenly. There, free of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pavel-florensky/in-creating-a-work-of-art-the-psyche-or-soul-of-the-artist-ascends/) [Pavel Florensky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pavel-florensky/) > [The ride does not require an explanation, just participants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonny-barger/the-ride-does-not-require-an-explanation-just-participants/) [Sonny Barger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonny-barger/) > [The human soul, provided it is pure and strong enough, can contact the unseen in waking life as well as in dreams: all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seyyed-hossein-nasr/the-human-soul-provided-it-is-pure-and-strong-enough-can-contact-the/) [Seyyed Hossein Nasr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seyyed-hossein-nasr/) > [Doing a story about my mundane, waking life, how much I don't like my job, or breaking up with someone, I don't think so.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-woodring/doing-a-story-about-my-mundane-waking-life-how-much-i-don-t-like-my/) [Jim Woodring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-woodring/) > [Dream life, I realized, was only confusing when you were awake. It was from the perspective of waking life that dream life seemed fractured…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-garland/dream-life-i-realized-was-only-confusing-when-you-were-awake-it-was/) [Alex Garland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-garland/) > [He found himself understanding the wearisomeness of this life,where every path was an improvisation and a considerable part of one's waking life was spent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/he-found-himself-understanding-the-wearisomeness-of-this-life-where/) [William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/) > [Art is thus materialized dream, separated from the ordinary consciousness of waking life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pavel-florensky/art-is-thus-materialized-dream-separated-from-the-ordinary/) [Pavel Florensky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pavel-florensky/) ## More by Margaret Atwood > [“I'm fine," said Pilar, "for the moment. And the moment is the only time we can be fine in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-m-fine-said-pilar-for-the-moment-and-the-moment-is-the-only-time-we/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [And yet it disturbs me to learn I have hurt someone unintentionally. I want all my hurts to be intentional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/and-yet-it-disturbs-me-to-learn-i-have-hurt-someone-unintentionally-i/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Mary: Some call this "Eve's curse," but I think that is stupid because the real curse of Eve was having to put up with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/mary-some-call-this-eve-s-curse-but-i-think-that-is-stupid-because/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“The birds were singing around me, but I reflected that the very birds were strangers to me, for I did not even know their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-birds-were-singing-around-me-but-i-reflected-that-the-very-birds/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Strange how we decorate pain. These ribbons, for instance, and the small hard teardrops of blood. Who are they for? Do we think the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/strange-how-we-decorate-pain-these-ribbons-for-instance-and-the-small/) [margaret atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [I wanted to forget the past, but it refused to forget me; it waited for sleep, then cornered me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-wanted-to-forget-the-past-but-it-refused-to-forget-me-it-waited-for/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Back at home they drew the curtains and read, with disapproval, with relish, with avidity and glee - even the ones who'd never thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/back-at-home-they-drew-the-curtains-and-read-with-disapproval-with/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“It's my fault. I am forgetting too much.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/it-s-my-fault-i-am-forgetting-too-much/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [All fiction is about people, unless it's about rabbits pretending to be people. It's all essentially characters in action, which means characters moving through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/all-fiction-is-about-people-unless-it-s-about-rabbits-pretending-to/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Simon walks back to the house alone. The night is clear and warm, with a moon, almost full, enclosed in a nimbus of mist;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/simon-walks-back-to-the-house-alone-the-night-is-clear-and-warm-with/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“There is indeed something delightful about being able to combine obedience and disobedience in the same act.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/there-is-indeed-something-delightful-about-being-able-to-combine/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Every time the women appear, Snowman is astonished all over again. They're every known colour from the deepest black to whitest white, they're various…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/every-time-the-women-appear-snowman-is-astonished-all-over-again-they/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Once you publish a book, it is out of your control. You cannot dictate how people read it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/once-you-publish-a-book-it-is-out-of-your-control-you-cannot-dictate/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“The more difficult it was to love the particular man beside us, the more we believed in Love, abstract and total. We were waiting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-more-difficult-it-was-to-love-the-particular-man-beside-us-the/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“She knows she's deceiving herself about that, but she prefers to deceive herself. She desperately needs to believe such pure joy is still possible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/she-knows-she-s-deceiving-herself-about-that-but-she-prefers-to/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) [Explore all 2,072 Margaret Atwood quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) ## More Dream quotes > [“Once we become sensitive to dreams, we discover that every dynamic in a dream is manifesting itself in some way in our practical lives”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-johnson/once-we-become-sensitive-to-dreams-we-discover-that-every-dynamic-in/) [Robert A. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-johnson/) > [A thing of beauty is a joy for ever;It's loveliness increase;it will never pass into nothingness;but still will keep a bower quiet for us,and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/a-thing-of-beauty-is-a-joy-for-ever-it-s-loveliness-increase-it-will/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [“Not that it matters, when you dream, there's no outside or in. Your mind is an unimaginable bloom. A willow catkin as big as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-shapero/not-that-it-matters-when-you-dream-there-s-no-outside-or-in-your-mind/) [Rich Shapero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-shapero/) > [Academically, I was never that interested. I skipped classes. My biggest dream was to have a coffee shop, but I had no idea how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-espinosa/academically-i-was-never-that-interested-i-skipped-classes-my-biggest/) [Daniel Espinosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-espinosa/) > [“As dreams are the healing songs from the wilderness of our unconscious - So wild animals, wild plants, wild landscapes are the healing dreams…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-pendell/as-dreams-are-the-healing-songs-from-the-wilderness-of-our/) [Dale Pendell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-pendell/) > [Alone in a world, With millions of souls Walking in circles Trapped in their dreams unhealthy, unclean walking in circles, now do not disturb…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-bennington/alone-in-a-world-with-millions-of-souls-walking-in-circles-trapped-in/) [Chester Bennington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-bennington/) > [“Doing the work to transform your dreams into reality is like walking across the earth. It can be that hard, and it can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dragos-bratasanu/doing-the-work-to-transform-your-dreams-into-reality-is-like-walking/) [Dragos Bratasanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dragos-bratasanu/) > [As far as Im concerned, I didnt dream - ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/as-far-as-im-concerned-i-didnt-dream-ever/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [I have long felt that the way to keep children out of trouble is to keep them interested in things. Lecturing to children is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-disney/i-have-long-felt-that-the-way-to-keep-children-out-of-trouble-is-to/) [Walt Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-disney/) > [I guess, it's a father's dream for his daughter to be known around the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liza-soberano/i-guess-it-s-a-father-s-dream-for-his-daughter-to-be-known-around-the/) [Liza Soberano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liza-soberano/) > [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [Sometimes life seems like a dream, especially when I look down and see that I forgot to put on my pants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-handey/sometimes-life-seems-like-a-dream-especially-when-i-look-down-and-see/) [Jack Handey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-handey/) > [“I had a dream. I had an awesome dream.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-had-a-dream-i-had-an-awesome-dream/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“His dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/his-dream-must-have-seemed-so-close-that-he-could-hardly-fail-to/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) [Browse all 26,527 Dream quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "But my dreaming self refuses to be consoled. It continues to wander, aimless, homeless, alone. It cannot be convinced of its safety by any evidence drawn from my waking life.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Margaret Atwood" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/but-my-dreaming-self-refuses-to-be-consoled-it-continues-to-wander/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dream" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/but-my-dreaming-self-refuses-to-be-consoled-it-continues-to-wander/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/861/margaret-atwood-40_dream_but-my-dreaming-self-refuses-to-be-conso_2953131.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/861/margaret-atwood-40_dream_but-my-dreaming-self-refuses-to-be-conso_2953131.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/861/margaret-atwood-40_dream_but-my-dreaming-self-refuses-to-be-conso_2953131.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“But my dreaming self refuses to be consoled. It continues to wander, aimless, homeless, alone. It cannot be…” — Margaret Atwood", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Margaret Atwood", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "But my dreaming self refuses to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/but-my-dreaming-self-refuses-to-be-consoled-it-continues-to-wander/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/but-my-dreaming-self-refuses-to-be-consoled-it-continues-to-wander/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```